GPS-based trafic monitoring system

ABSTRACT

A traffic monitoring system comprises a traffic estimating module that estimates an average traffic level on the road during prior ones of first periodic periods. A traffic monitoring module estimates a current traffic level on the road during a first portion of a current one of the first periodic periods based on vector and location information received from at least one of cellular phones and vehicles during the first portion. A traffic predicting module predicts traffic levels on the road during a remaining portion of the current one of the first periodic periods based on the average traffic level and the estimated current traffic level during the first portion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/868,174, filed on Dec. 1, 2006, and 60/828,720, filed on Oct. 9,2006. This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/338,978 filed on Jan. 25, 2006, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/171,563filed on Jun. 30, 2005. The disclosures of the above application areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to traffic monitoring systems, and moreparticularly to global positioning system (GPS)-based traffic monitoringsystems for vehicles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Global positioning systems (GPS) for vehicles typically include areceiver that triangulates vehicle position using beacons generated byGPS satellites. These systems also typically include a map database thatis used to provide the location of the vehicle on a map, drivingdirections, the location of restaurants and other businesses, and/orother information. As cities become more populated, it has become moredifficult to travel without incurring delays due to traffic congestion,accidents, construction and/or other problems. Finding parking incongested cities can also be difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A traffic monitoring system comprises a traffic estimating module thatestimates an average traffic level on the road during prior ones offirst periodic periods. A traffic monitoring module estimates a currenttraffic level on the road during a first portion of a current one of thefirst periodic periods based on vector and location information receivedfrom at least one of cellular phones and vehicles during the firstportion. A traffic predicting module predicts traffic levels on the roadduring a remaining portion of the current one of the first periodicperiods based on the average traffic level and the estimated currenttraffic level during the first portion.

In other features, the traffic monitoring system comprises a cellularphone includes a global positioning system (GPS) that selectivelygenerates vector and location data, a transmitter, and a control modulethat selectively wirelessly transmits vector and location data of thecellular phone using the transmitter. The control module transmits thevector and location data of the cellular phone when the cellular phoneis traveling on a first set of predetermined roads and does not transmitthe vector and location data when the cellular phone is traveling on asecond set of roads. The control module transmits the vector andlocation data of the cellular phone when the cellular phone is travelingat a speed greater than a first threshold and does not transmit thevector and location data when the cellular phone is traveling at a speedthat is less than the first threshold. A traffic report generatorgenerates traffic reports based on the vector and location data, whereinthe cellular phone includes a receiver that communicates with thecontrol module and that wirelessly receives the traffic reports. Thetraffic reports include traffic speed information for traffic travelingon at least one road.

In other features, the traffic monitoring system includes a cellularphone, and a cellular phone tracking module that generates vector andlocation data for the cellular phone. The cellular phone tracking modulecompares a speed of the cellular phone on a first road to a firstthreshold and to an average traffic speed on the first road and thatselectively triggers contact with the cellular phone. The control moduletransmits the vector and location data on a periodic basis. The controlmodule monitors changes in direction of the cellular phone and transmitsthe vector and location data when the cellular phone changes directiongreater than a direction change threshold.

A method for operating a traffic monitoring system comprises estimatingan average traffic level on the road during prior ones of first periodicperiods; estimating a current traffic level on the road during a firstportion of a current one of the first periodic periods based on vectorand location information received from at least one of cellular phonesand vehicles during the first portion; and predicting traffic levels onthe road during a remaining portion of the current one of the firstperiodic periods based on the average traffic level and the estimatedcurrent traffic level during the first portion.

In other features, the method includes providing a cellular phoneincluding a global positioning system (GPS) that selectively generatesvector and location data, a transmitter, and a control module thatselectively wirelessly transmits vector and location data of thecellular phone using the transmitter. The method includes transmittingthe vector and location data of the cellular phone when the cellularphone is traveling on a first set of predetermined roads and nottransmitting the vector and location data when the cellular phone istraveling on a second set of roads.

In other features, the method includes transmitting the vector andlocation data of the cellular phone when the cellular phone is travelingat a speed greater than a first threshold and not transmitting thevector and location data when the cellular phone is traveling at a speedthat is less than the first threshold. The method includes generatingtraffic reports based on the vector and location data; and wirelesslyreceiving the traffic reports at the cellular phone. The traffic reportsinclude traffic speed information for traffic traveling on at least oneroad. The method includes providing a cellular phone and providing acellular phone tracking module that generates vector and location datafor the cellular phone. The method includes comparing a speed of thecellular phone on a first road to a first threshold and to an averagetraffic speed on the first road; and selectively triggering contact withthe cellular phone. The method includes transmitting the vector andlocation data on a periodic basis. The method includes monitoringchanges in direction of the cellular phone; and transmitting the vectorand location data when the cellular phone changes direction greater thana direction change threshold.

A traffic monitoring system comprises traffic estimating means forestimating an average traffic level on the road during prior ones offirst periodic periods; traffic monitoring means for estimating acurrent traffic level on the road during a first portion of a currentone of the first periodic periods based on vector and locationinformation received from at least one of cellular phones and vehiclesduring the first portion; and traffic predicting means for predictingtraffic levels on the road during a remaining portion of the current oneof the first periodic periods based on the average traffic level and theestimated current traffic level during the first portion.

In other features, the traffic monitoring system includes a cellularphone including global positioning means for selectively generatingvector and location data; transmitting means for transmitting data; andcontrol means for selectively wirelessly transmitting vector andlocation data of the cellular phone using the transmitting means. Thecontrol means transmits the vector and location data of the cellularphone when the cellular phone is traveling on a first set ofpredetermined roads and does not transmit the vector and location datawhen the cellular phone is traveling on a second set of roads. Thecontrol means transmits the vector and location data of the cellularphone when the cellular phone is traveling at a speed greater than afirst threshold and does not transmit the vector and location data whenthe cellular phone is traveling at a speed that is less than the firstthreshold. Traffic report generating means generates traffic reportsbased on the vector and location data, wherein the cellular phoneincludes a receiver that communicates with the control means and thatwirelessly receives the traffic reports. The traffic reports includetraffic speed information for traffic traveling on at least one road.

In other features, the traffic monitoring system includes a cellularphone; and cellular phone tracking means for generating vector andlocation data for the cellular phone. The cellular phone tracking meanscompares a speed of the cellular phone on a first road to a firstthreshold and to an average traffic speed on the first road and thatselectively triggers contact with the cellular phone. The control meanstransmits the vector and location data on a periodic basis. The controlmeans monitors changes in direction of the cellular phone and transmitsthe vector and location data when the cellular phone changes directiongreater than a direction change threshold.

A cellular phone comprises a cellular phone control module that controlsthe cellular phone; a global positioning system (GPS) that selectivelygenerates vector and location data; and a transmitter, wherein thecellular phone control module selectively wirelessly transmits thevector and location data using the transmitter when at least one of: thecellular phone is traveling on a first set of predetermined roads anddoes not transmit the vector and location data when the cellular phoneis traveling on a second set of roads; and the cellular phone istraveling at a first speed that is greater than a predetermined speed.

In other features, the cellular phone includes a receiver thatcommunicates with the cellular phone control module and that wirelesslyreceives traffic reports from a remote traffic monitoring system. Thetraffic reports include traffic speed information for traffic travelingon at least one of the first set of predetermined roads.

In other features, a traffic monitoring system comprises the cellularphone and further comprises a remote traffic monitoring system thatreceives the vector and location data and that compares a speed of thecellular phone on a first road to a first threshold and to an averagetraffic speed on the first road and that selectively triggers contactwith the cellular phone. The cellular phone control module transmits thevector and location data on a periodic basis. The cellular phone controlmodule monitors changes in direction of the cellular phone and transmitsthe vector and location data when the cellular phone changes directiongreater than a direction change threshold.

In other features, a traffic monitoring system comprises the cellularphone and further comprises a traffic estimating module that estimatesan average traffic level on the road during prior ones of first periodicperiods. A traffic monitoring module estimates a current traffic levelon the road during a first portion of a current one of the firstperiodic periods based on vector and location information received fromat least one of cellular phones and vehicles during the first portion. Atraffic predicting module predicts traffic levels on the road during aremaining portion of the current one of the first periodic periods basedon the average traffic level and the estimated current traffic levelduring the first portion. The predetermined speed is based on a typicalspeed of a person one of walking or running.

A method for operating a cellular phone comprises providing a cellularphone control module that controls the cellular phone; selectivelygenerating vector and location data using a global positioning system ofthe cellular phone; and selectively wirelessly transmitting the vectorand location data using the transmitter when at least one of: thecellular phone is traveling on a first set of predetermined roads anddoes not transmit the vector and location data when the cellular phoneis traveling on a second set of roads; and the cellular phone istraveling at a first speed that is greater than a predetermined speed.

In other features, the method includes wirelessly receiving trafficreports from a remote traffic monitoring system at the cellular phone.The traffic reports include traffic speed information for traffictraveling on at least one of the first set of predetermined roads. Themethod includes receiving the vector and location data at a remotetraffic monitoring system; comparing a speed of the cellular phone on afirst road to a first threshold and to an average traffic speed on thefirst road; and selectively triggering contact with the cellular phone.

In other features, the method includes transmitting the vector andlocation data on a periodic basis. The method includes monitoringchanges in direction of the cellular phone; and transmitting the vectorand location data when the cellular phone changes direction greater thana direction change threshold. The method includes estimating an averagetraffic level on the road during prior ones of first periodic periods.The method includes estimating a current traffic level on the roadduring a first portion of a current one of the first periodic periodsbased on vector and location information received from at least one ofcellular phones and vehicles during the first portion. The methodincludes predicting traffic levels on the road during a remainingportion of the current one of the first periodic periods based on theaverage traffic level and the estimated current traffic level during thefirst portion the predetermined speed is based on a typical speed of aperson one of walking or running.

A cellular phone comprises cellular phone control means for controllingthe cellular phone; global positioning means for selectively generatingvector and location data; and transmitting means for transmitting data.The cellular phone control means selectively wirelessly transmits thevector and location data using the transmitting means when at least oneof: the cellular phone is traveling on a first set of predeterminedroads and does not transmit the vector and location data when thecellular phone is traveling on a second set of roads; and the cellularphone is traveling at a first speed that is greater than a predeterminedspeed.

In other features, the cellular phone includes receiving means forcommunicating with the cellular phone control means and for wirelesslyreceiving traffic reports from a remote traffic monitoring system. Thetraffic reports include traffic speed information for traffic travelingon at least one of the first set of predetermined roads.

In other features, a traffic monitoring system comprises the cellularphone and further comprises remote traffic monitoring means forreceiving the vector and location data and for comparing a speed of thecellular phone on a first road to a first threshold and to an averagetraffic speed on the, first road and for selectively triggering contactwith the cellular phone. The cellular phone control means transmits thevector and location data on a periodic basis. The cellular phone controlmeans monitors changes in direction of the cellular phone and transmitsthe vector and location data when the cellular phone changes directiongreater than a direction change threshold.

In other features, a traffic monitoring system comprises the cellularphone and further comprises traffic estimating means for estimating anaverage traffic level on the road during prior ones of first periodicperiods. Traffic monitoring means estimates a current traffic level onthe road during a first portion of a current one of the first periodicperiods based on vector and location information received from at leastone of cellular phones and vehicles during the first portion. Trafficpredicting means predicts traffic levels on the road during a remainingportion of the current one of the first periodic periods based on theaverage traffic level and the estimated current traffic level during thefirst portion. The predetermined speed is based on a typical speed of aperson one of walking or running.

A traffic monitoring system comprises a cellular phone system thatcommunicates with a plurality of cellular phones and that generatesvector and location data for the plurality of cellular phones. A trafficmonitoring module communicates with the cellular phone system, generatestraffic reports based on the vector and location data from the pluralityof cellular phones, and selectively enables use of the vector andlocation data from at least one of the cellular phones when at least oneof: a speed of the at least one of the cellular phones is greater than apredetermined speed; and the traffic monitoring module receives vectorand location data from a second one of the cellular phones and thesecond one of the cellular phones is traveling in the same or anopposite direction as the first one of the cellular phones and has aspeed that is within a predetermined difference of a speed of the firstone of the cellular phones. In other features, the predetermined speedis greater than a typical speed of one of a person walking or running.

In other features, the first one of the cellular phones includes aglobal positioning system (GPS) that selectively generates vector andlocation data; a transmitter; and a control module that receives thevector and location data and that wirelessly transmits the vector andlocation data using the transmitter. The control module selectivelytransmits the vector and location data when the cellular phone istraveling on a first set of predetermined roads and does not transmitthe vector and location data when the cellular phone is traveling on asecond set of roads. The first one of the cellular phones includes areceiver that communicates with the control module and that wirelesslyreceives traffic reports from a remote traffic monitoring system. Thetraffic reports include traffic speed information for traffic travelingon at least one of the first set of predetermined roads. The cellularphone system selectively transmits the vector and location data for thecellular phones on a periodic basis. The cellular phone system monitorschanges in direction of the cellular phones and transmits the vector andlocation data for the cellular phones when the cellular phones changedirection greater than a direction change threshold. The cellular phonesystem monitors changes in speed of the cellular phones. The cellularphone transmits the vector and location data for the cellular phoneswhen the cellular phones change speed greater than a speed changethreshold.

A method for operating a traffic monitoring system comprises providing acellular phone system that communicates with a plurality of cellularphones and that generates vector and location data for the plurality ofcellular phones; and generating traffic reports based on the vector andlocation data from the plurality of cellular phones using a trafficmonitoring module; selectively enabling use of the vector and locationdata from at least one of the cellular phones when at least one of: aspeed of the at least one of the cellular phones is greater than apredetermined speed; and the traffic monitoring module receives vectorand location data from a second one of the cellular phones and thesecond one of the cellular phones is traveling in the same or anopposite direction as the first one of the cellular phones and has aspeed that is within a predetermined difference of a speed of the firstone of the cellular phones.

In other features, the predetermined speed is based on a speed of one ofa person walking or running. The first one of the cellular phonesincludes a global positioning system (GPS) that selectively generatesvector and location data; a transmitter; and a control module thatreceives the vector and location data and that wirelessly transmits thevector and location data using the transmitter. The method includesselectively transmitting the vector and location data when the cellularphone is traveling on a first set of predetermined roads; and nottransmitting the vector and location data when the cellular phone istraveling on a second set of roads. The method includes wirelesslyreceiving traffic reports from a remote traffic monitoring system at thefirst one of the cellular phones. The traffic reports include trafficspeed information for traffic traveling on at least one of the first setof predetermined roads. The cellular phone system selectively transmitsthe vector and location data for the cellular phones on a periodicbasis. The method includes monitoring changes in direction of thecellular phones; and transmitting the vector and location data for thecellular phones when the cellular phones change direction greater than adirection change threshold. The method includes monitoring changes inspeed of the cellular phones. The method includes transmitting thevector and location data for the cellular phones when the cellularphones change speed greater than a speed change threshold.

A traffic monitoring system comprises a cellular phone system thatcommunicates with a plurality of cellular phones and that generatesvector and location data for the plurality of cellular phones. Trafficmonitoring means, that communicates with the cellular phone system,generates traffic reports based on the vector and location data from theplurality of cellular phones, and selectively enables use of the vectorand location data from at least one of the cellular phones when at leastone of: a speed of the at least one of the cellular phones is greaterthan a predetermined speed; and the traffic monitoring means receivesvector and location data from a second one of the cellular phones andthe second one of the cellular phones is traveling in the same or anopposite direction as the first one of the cellular phones and has aspeed that is within a predetermined difference of a speed of the firstone of the cellular phones.

In other features, the predetermined speed is greater than a typicalspeed of one of a person walking or running. The first one of thecellular phones includes a global positioning means for selectivelygenerating vector and location data; transmitting means fortransmitting; and control means for receiving the vector and locationdata and for wirelessly transmitting the vector and location data usingthe transmitting means. The control means selectively transmits thevector and location data when the cellular phone is traveling on a firstset of predetermined roads and does not transmit the vector and locationdata when the cellular phone is traveling on a second set of roads. Thefirst one of the cellular phones includes receiving means forcommunicating with the control means and for wirelessly receivingtraffic reports from remote traffic monitoring means for remotelymonitoring traffic. The traffic reports include traffic speedinformation for traffic traveling on at least one of the first set ofpredetermined roads. The cellular phone system selectively transmits thevector and location data for the cellular phones on a periodic basis.The cellular phone system monitors changes in direction of the cellularphones and transmits the vector and location data for the cellularphones when the cellular phones change direction greater than adirection change threshold. The cellular phone system monitors changesin speed of the cellular phones. The cellular phone transmits the vectorand location data for the cellular phones when the cellular phoneschange speed greater than a speed change threshold.

A traffic monitoring system comprises memory for storing map data; atraffic report generating module that receives vector and location datafrom at least one of cellular phones and vehicles and that generates andtransmits traffic reports based on the vector and location data; and anadaptive map building module including: a path determining module thatdetermines a travel path of the at least one of the cellular phones andthe vehicles based on the vector and location data; a comparing modulethat compares the travel path to roads defined by the map data; and anidentifying module that selectively identifies new roads based on thecomparison.

In other features, a generating module generates new road data when thenew roads are identified. An updating module selectively transmits thenew road data to the at least one of the cellular phones and thevehicles. The path identifying module determines a speed of the cellularphones on the travel path, the comparing module compares the speed tofirst and second predetermined speeds and the identifying moduleselectively identifies new walking paths based on the comparison. Thegenerating module generates new walking path data when the new walkingpaths are identified. The updating module selectively transmits the newwalking path data to the at least one of the cellular phones and thevehicles. The first predetermined speed is equal to a typical minimumwalking speed and the second predetermined speed is equal to a typicalmaximum walking speed.

In other features, the path identifying module determines a speed of thecellular phones on the travel path, the comparing module compares thespeed to first and second predetermined speeds and the identifyingmodule selectively identifies new biking paths based on the comparison,wherein the first predetermined speed is equal to a typical minimumbiking speed and the second predetermined speed is equal to a typicalmaximum biking speed. The generating module generates new biking pathdata when the new biking paths are identified. The updating moduleselectively transmits the new biking paths to the at least one of thecellular phones and the vehicles.

A traffic monitoring system comprises storing means for storing mapdata; traffic report generating means for receiving vector and locationdata from at least one of cellular phones and vehicles and forgenerating and transmitting traffic reports based on the vector andlocation data; and adaptive map building means for updating the map dataincluding: path determining means for determining a travel path of theat least one of the cellular phones and the vehicles based on the vectorand location data; comparing means for comparing the travel path toroads defined by the map data; and identifying means for selectivelyidentifying new roads based on the comparison.

In other features, generating means generates new road data when the newroads are identified. Updating means selectively transmits the new roaddata to the at least one of the cellular phones and the vehicles. Thepath identifying means determines a speed of the cellular phones on thetravel path, the comparing means compares the speed to first and secondpredetermined speeds and the identifying means selectively identifiesnew walking paths based on the comparison. The generating meansgenerates new walking path data when the new walking paths areidentified. The updating means selectively transmits the new walkingpath data to the at least one of the cellular phones and the vehicles.The first predetermined speed is equal to a typical minimum walkingspeed and the second predetermined speed is equal to a typical maximumwalking speed.

In other features, the path identifying means determines a speed of thecellular phones on the travel path, the comparing means compares thespeed to first and second predetermined speeds and the identifying meansselectively identifies new biking paths based on the comparison. Thefirst predetermined speed is equal to a typical minimum biking speed andthe second predetermined speed is equal to a typical maximum bikingspeed. The generating means generates new biking path data when the newbiking paths are identified. The updating means selectively transmitsthe new biking paths to the at least one of the cellular phones and thevehicles.

A method for providing a traffic monitoring system comprises storing mapdata; receiving vector and location data from at least one of cellularphones and vehicles and generating and transmitting traffic reportsbased on the vector and location data; determining a travel path of theat least one of the cellular phones and the vehicles based on the vectorand location data; comparing the travel path to roads defined by the mapdata; and selectively identifying new roads based on the comparison.

In other features, the method includes generating new road data when thenew roads are identified. The method includes selectively transmittingthe new road data to the at least one of the cellular phones and thevehicles. The method includes determining a speed of the cellular phoneson the travel path, comparing the speed to first and secondpredetermined speeds and selectively identifying new walking paths basedon the comparison. The method includes generating new walking path datawhen the new walking paths are identified. The method includesselectively transmitting the new walking path data to the at least oneof the cellular phones and the vehicles. The first predetermined speedis equal to a typical minimum walking speed and the second predeterminedspeed is equal to a typical maximum walking speed.

In other features, the method includes determining a speed of thecellular phones on the travel path; comparing the speed to first andsecond predetermined speeds; and selectively identifying new bikingpaths based on the comparison. The first predetermined speed is equal toa typical minimum biking speed and the second predetermined speed isequal to a typical maximum biking speed. The method includes generatingnew biking path data when the new biking paths are identified. Themethod, includes selectively transmitting the new biking paths to the atleast one of the cellular phones and the vehicles.

A computer program stored for use by a processor for providing a trafficmonitoring system comprises storing map data; receiving vector andlocation data from at least one of cellular phones and vehicles andgenerating and transmitting traffic reports based on the vector andlocation data; determining a travel path of the at least one of thecellular phones and the vehicles based on the vector and location data;comparing the travel path to roads defined by the map data; andselectively identifying new roads based on the comparison.

In other features, the method includes generating new road data when thenew roads are identified. The method includes selectively transmittingthe new road data to the at least one of the cellular phones and thevehicles. The method includes determining a speed of the cellular phoneson the travel path, comparing the speed to first and secondpredetermined speeds and selectively identifying new walking paths basedon the comparison. The method includes generating new walking path datawhen the new walking paths are identified. The method includesselectively transmitting the new walking path data to the at least oneof the cellular phones and the vehicles. The first predetermined speedis equal to a typical minimum walking speed and the second predeterminedspeed is equal to a typical maximum walking speed.

In other features, the method includes determining a speed of thecellular phones on the travel path; comparing the speed to first andsecond predetermined speeds; and selectively identifying new bikingpaths based on the comparison, wherein the first predetermined speed isequal to a typical minimum biking speed and the second predeterminedspeed is equal to a typical maximum biking speed. The method includesgenerating new biking path data when the new biking paths areidentified. The method includes selectively transmitting the new bikingpaths to the at least one of the cellular phones and the vehicles.

A vehicle comprises memory for storing map data; a global positioningsystem (GPS) module that transmits vector and location data and thatreceives traffic reports from a remote traffic monitoring system; and anadaptive map building module including: a path determining module thatdetermines a travel path of the vehicle based on the vector and locationdata; a comparing module that compares the travel path to roads definedby the map data; and an identifying module that selectively identifiesnew roads based on the comparison.

In other features, a generating module generates new road data when thenew roads are identified. An updating module selectively transmits thenew road data to the memory. An updating module selectively transmitsthe new road data to the remote traffic monitoring system.

A cellular phone comprises memory for storing map data; a globalpositioning system (GPS) module that transmits vector and location dataand that receives traffic reports from a remote traffic monitoringsystem; and an adaptive map building module including: a pathdetermining module that determines a travel path of the cellular phoneand based on the vector and location data; a comparing module thatcompares the travel path to roads defined by the map data; and anidentifying module that selectively identifies new roads based on thecomparison.

In other features, a generating module generates new road data when thenew roads are identified. An updating module selectively transmits thenew road data to at least one of the memory and the remote trafficmonitoring system. The path identifying module determines a speed of thecellular phone on the travel path, the comparing module compares thespeed to first and second predetermined speeds and the identifyingmodule selectively identifies new walking paths based on the comparison.The generating module generates new walking path data when the newwalking paths are identified. The updating module selectively transmitsthe new walking path data to at least one of the memory and the remotetraffic monitoring system. The first predetermined speed is equal to atypical minimum walking speed and the second predetermined speed isequal to a typical maximum walking speed.

In other features, the path identifying module determines a speed of thecellular phone on the travel path, the comparing module compares thespeed to first and second predetermined speeds and the identifyingmodule selectively identifies new biking paths based on the comparison.The generating module generates new biking path data when the new bikingpaths are identified. The updating module selectively transmits the newbiking paths to at least one of the memory and the remote trafficmonitoring system. The first predetermined speed is equal to a typicalminimum biking speed and the second predetermined speed is equal to atypical maximum biking speed.

A vehicle comprises storing means for storing map data; globalpositioning system (GPS) means for transmitting vector and location dataand for receiving traffic reports from a remote traffic monitoringsystem; and adaptive map building means for updating the map dataincluding: path determining means for determining a travel path of thevehicle based on the vector and location data; comparing means forcomparing the travel path to roads defined by the map data; andidentifying means for selectively identifying new roads based on thecomparison.

In other features, generating means generates new road data when the newroads are identified. Updating means selectively transmits the new roaddata to the storing means. Updating means selectively transmits the newroad data to the remote traffic monitoring system.

A cellular phone comprises storing means for storing map data; globalpositioning system (GPS) means for transmitting vector and location dataand for receiving traffic reports from a remote traffic monitoringsystem; and adaptive map building means for updating the map dataincluding: path determining means for determining a travel path of thecellular phone based on the vector and location data; comparing meansfor comparing the travel path to roads defined by the map data; andidentifying means for selectively identifying new roads based on thecomparison.

In other features, generating means generates new road data when the newroads are identified. Updating means selectively transmits the new roaddata to at least one of the storing means and the remote trafficmonitoring system. The path identifying means determines a speed of thecellular phone on the travel path, the comparing means compares thespeed to first and second predetermined speeds and the identifying meansselectively identifies new walking paths based on the comparison. Thegenerating means generates new walking path data when the new walkingpaths are identified. The updating means selectively transmits the newwalking path data to at least one of the storing means and the remotetraffic monitoring system. The first predetermined speed is equal to atypical minimum walking speed and the second predetermined speed isequal to a typical maximum walking speed. The path identifying meansdetermines a speed of the cellular phone on the travel path, thecomparing means compares the speed to first and second predeterminedspeeds and the identifying means selectively identifies new biking pathsbased on the comparison. The generating means generates new biking pathdata when the new biking paths are identified. The updating meansselectively transmits the new biking paths to at least one of thestoring means and the remote traffic monitoring system. The firstpredetermined speed is equal to a typical minimum biking speed and thesecond predetermined speed is equal to a typical maximum biking speed.

A method for providing map data in a vehicle comprises storing map data;transmitting vector and location data and receiving traffic reports froma remote traffic monitoring system; determining a travel path of thevehicle based on the vector and location data; comparing the travel pathto roads defined by the map data; and selectively identifying new roadsbased on the comparison.

In other features, the method includes generating new road data when thenew roads are identified. The method includes selectively transmittingthe new road data to the memory. The method includes selectivelytransmitting the new road data to the remote traffic monitoring system.

A method for providing map data in a cellular phone comprises storingmap data; transmitting vector and location data; receiving trafficreports from a remote traffic monitoring system; determining a travelpath of the cellular phone and based on the vector and location data;comparing the travel path to roads defined by the map data; andselectively identifying new roads based on the comparison.

In other features, the method includes generating new road data when thenew roads are identified. The method includes selectively transmittingthe new road data to at least one of the memory and the remote trafficmonitoring system. The method includes determining a speed of thecellular phone on the travel path, comparing the speed to first andsecond predetermined speeds and selectively identifying new walkingpaths based on the comparison. The method includes generating newwalking path data when the new walking paths are identified. The methodincludes selectively transmitting the new walking path data to at leastone of the memory and the remote traffic monitoring system. The firstpredetermined speed is equal to a typical minimum walking speed and thesecond predetermined speed is equal to a typical maximum walking speed.

In other features, the method includes determining a speed of thecellular phone on the travel path, comparing the speed to first andsecond predetermined speeds and selectively identifying new biking pathsbased on the comparison. The method includes generating new biking pathdata when the new biking paths are identified. The method includesselectively transmitting the new biking paths to at least one of thememory and the remote traffic monitoring system. The first predeterminedspeed is equal to a typical minimum biking speed and the secondpredetermined speed is equal to a typical maximum biking speed.

A computer program stored for use by a processor for providing map datain a vehicle comprises storing map data; transmitting vector andlocation data and receiving traffic reports from a remote trafficmonitoring system; determining a travel path of the vehicle based on thevector and location data; comparing the travel path to roads defined bythe map data; and selectively identifying new roads based on thecomparison.

In other features, the computer program includes generating new roaddata when the new roads are identified. The computer program includesselectively transmitting the new road data to the memory. The computerprogram includes selectively transmitting the new road data to theremote traffic monitoring system.

A computer program stored for use by a processor for providing map datain a cellular phone comprises storing map data; transmitting vector andlocation data; receiving traffic reports from a remote trafficmonitoring system; determining a travel path of the cellular phone andbased on the vector and location data; comparing the travel path toroads defined by the map data; and selectively identifying new roadsbased on the comparison.

In other features, the computer program includes generating new roaddata when the new roads are identified. The computer program includesselectively transmitting the new road data to at least one of the memoryand the remote traffic monitoring system. The computer program includesdetermining a speed of the cellular phone on the travel path, comparingthe speed to first and second predetermined speeds and selectivelyidentifying new walking paths based on the comparison. The computerprogram includes generating new walking path data when the new walkingpaths are identified. The computer program includes selectivelytransmitting the new walking path data to at least one of the memory andthe remote traffic monitoring system. The first predetermined speed isequal to a typical minimum walking speed and the second predeterminedspeed is equal to a typical maximum walking speed.

In other features, the computer program includes determining a speed ofthe cellular phone on the travel path, comparing the speed to first andsecond predetermined speeds and selectively identifying new biking pathsbased on the comparison. The computer program includes generating newbiking path data when the new biking paths are identified. The computerprogram includes selectively transmitting the new biking paths to atleast one of the memory and the remote traffic monitoring system. Thefirst predetermined speed is equal to a typical minimum biking speed andthe second predetermined speed is equal to a typical maximum bikingspeed.

Further areas of applicability of the present invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It shouldbe understood that the detailed description and specific examples, whileindicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended forpurposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope ofthe invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary traffic monitoring system that monitorsvehicle traffic according to the present invention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are functional block diagrams of exemplary vehiclesincluding a GPS, a transceiver, a control module and a display;

FIG. 3A is a functional block diagram of the exemplary vehicle of FIG.2A with a remote service assistance (RSA) system;

FIG. 3B is a functional block diagram of the exemplary vehicle of FIG.2A with an alternate RSA system;

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of portions of an exemplary trafficmonitoring system;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps performed by avehicle for transmitting data;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating first alternate exemplary stepsperformed by a vehicle for transmitting data;

FIG. 7A is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps performed by thetraffic monitoring system for transmitting parking-related data;

FIG. 7B is a flow chart illustrating alternate exemplary steps performedby the traffic monitoring system for transmitting parking-related data;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating steps performed by the trafficmonitoring system for receiving and processing traffic and parking data;

FIG. 9 illustrates steps performed by the traffic monitoring system formonitoring parking;

FIG. 10 illustrates steps performed by the traffic monitoring system andthe RSA system for identifying vehicles having operational problems;

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary map display with average vehicle speedson roads, accidents, construction and/or other items;

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary display of available parking in thevicinity of the vehicle;

FIG. 13A illustrates steps performed by the traffic monitoring system toidentify possible vehicle accidents;

FIG. 13B illustrates steps performed by the traffic monitor system forupdating traffic information based on lanes that vehicles are travelingin;

FIG. 14 illustrates steps performed by an exemplary traffic and/orparking information subscriber system;

FIG. 15 illustrates steps performed by another exemplary traffic and/orparking information subscriber system;

FIGS. 16A-16C are functional block diagrams of portions of an exemplarytraffic monitoring system that employs data from cellular phones;

FIG. 17 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps performed by acellular phone for transmitting data;

FIG. 18 is a flow chart illustrating alternate exemplary steps performedby a cellular phone for transmitting data;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating steps for selectively sending datawhen the cellular phone is moving at a speed greater than a firstthreshold;

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating steps for selectively using datafrom cellular phones when more than one cellular phone are locatedwithin a predetermined distance and are moving in the same or oppositedirection and/or at a similar speed;

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating steps for selectively predictingatypical events such as construction and/or accidents based on estimateexpected speed or traffic flow for a given set of conditions;

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating steps for selectively predictingfuture traffic flow based on prior traffic flow;

FIG. 23 is a flow chart illustrating steps performed by the trafficmonitoring system for receiving and processing traffic and parking databased on data from cellular phones and vehicles;

FIG. 24A is a functional block diagram of an alternate trafficmonitoring module;

FIG. 24B is a functional block diagram of a server;

FIG. 25A is a functional block diagram of a traffic monitoring moduleincluding a map monitoring module and a map updating module;

FIG. 25B is a functional block of an exemplary map monitoring module forthe traffic monitoring module;

FIG. 25C is a functional block diagram of a server including a mapmonitoring module and a map updating module

FIG. 25D is a functional block of an exemplary map monitoring module forthe server;

FIG. 26 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating an exemplary methodperformed by the map monitoring module of FIG. 25;

FIG. 27A and 27B are functional block diagrams of a cellular phoneincluding a user-based adaptive map building module;

FIG. 28 is a functional block diagram of a vehicle including auser-based adaptive map building module;

FIG. 29 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating an exemplary methodperformed by the adaptive map building modules;

FIG. 30 is an alternate exemplary flowchart illustrating steps performedby the adaptive map building modules; and

FIG. 31 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating an exemplary method foridentifying a grade and/or a length of grade of a bike path.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merelyexemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention,its application, or uses. For purposes of clarity, the same referencenumbers will be used in the drawings to identify similar elements.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an exemplary traffic monitoring system thatmonitors vehicle traffic according to the present invention is shown.Vehicles 20-1, 20-2, . . . , and 20-N (generally identified as vehicles20) travel on a road in a first direction generally identified at 22.Vehicles 24-1, 24-2, . . . , and 24-M (generally identified as vehicles24) travel on the road in a second direction generally identified at 32.For example, vehicles 20-5 and 20-6 are involved in an accident, whichslows the flow of traffic in the first direction 22. The accident doesnot slow traffic moving in the second direction 32. The trafficmonitoring system alerts motorists of the slow traffic on the roadtraveling in the first direction, as well as information relating totraffic on other freeways, streets and other major thoroughfares.

The traffic monitoring system may further alert motorists of slowtraffic in a specific lane of a road. For example, the accidentinvolving the vehicles 20-5 and 20-6 is located in a first lane 34. Theaccident does not prevent travel in a second lane 36. The trafficmonitoring system determines that the accident is located in the firstlane 34 and may direct motorists to travel in the second lane 36 insteadof the first lane 34 (i.e. direct motorists to change lanes to avoid theaccident).

According to the present invention, some of the vehicles 20 and 24include global positioning systems (GPS) that include receivers thattriangulate vehicle position based on signals generated by GPSsatellites. In addition, the GPS may include an integrated transmitterand/or transceiver that transmits vector and location data wirelessly toa traffic monitoring system 50, which is located remotely from thevehicles 20 and 24. Alternately, a separate transmitter and/ortransceiver may be used in conjunction with a receiver-only GPS. Thevector data may include speed and direction data. The location data mayinclude longitude and latitude information or location information usinganother coordinate system. For example, the location data may indicatewhether the vehicle is traveling in the first lane 34 or the second lane36.

The traffic monitoring system 50 receives the vector and location data,performs calculations on the data and transmits traffic and/or parkinginformation back to the vehicles 20 and 24 with GPS systems withintegrated transmitters and/or transceivers and/or GPS systems withseparate transmitters and/or transceivers as will be described furtherbelow. The GPS systems of the vehicles provide visual and/or audibletraffic information to allow drivers to avoid traffic bottlenecks suchas the accident and/or to find parking spots.

Referring now to FIGS. 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B, several exemplary vehicleconfigurations are shown. While specific examples are shown, otherconfigurations may be used. In FIG. 2A, a vehicle 60 includes a GPS 62,a wireless transceiver 64 and a display 66. A control module 65 that isintegrated with the GPS 62 performs control functions relating totraffic and/or parking information systems. The GPS 62 triangulatesposition or location data of the vehicle 60 and calculates vector datausing GPS signals generated by GPS satellites. The vehicle 60selectively transmits the vector and location data wirelessly via thetransceiver 64 to the remote traffic monitoring system 50. Thetransceiver 64 periodically receives traffic data from the remotetraffic monitoring system 50 as will be described further below. The GPSsystems 62 outputs traffic and other GPS-related information using thedisplay 66. In some implementations, the transceiver 64 may beintegrated with the GPS 62. As can be appreciated, the control module 65may be separate from the GPS 62 as shown at 62′ and 65′ in FIG. 2B.

In FIG. 3A, a vehicle 60′ that is similar to FIGS. 2A and 2B is shownand further comprises a vehicle-based remote service assistance system70, which provides a connection to a main remote service assistancesystem and/or a service assistant. For example, one suitable remoteservice assistance system 70 is OnStar®, although other remote serviceassistance systems may be utilized. In FIG. 3A, the remote serviceassistance system 70 and the traffic monitoring system 50 share thecommon transceiver 64. In some implementations, the transceiver 64 maybe integrated with the GPS 62 and/or the remote service system 70.

In FIG. 3B, a vehicle 60″ that is similar to FIGS. 2A and 2B is shownand further comprises an alternate remote service assistance system 70′.In FIG. 3B, the remote service assistance system 70′ utilizes atransceiver 72 that is separate from the transceiver 64 used by the GPSsystem 62. As can be appreciated, any suitable wireless systems may beemployed including cellular systems, WiFi systems such as 802.11,802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n (which are hereby incorporated byreference), and/or other future 802.11 standards, WiMax systems such as802.16 (which is hereby incorporated by reference) and/or any othersuitable type of wireless system that allows communication oversufficient distances. In some implementations, one or both of thetransceivers 64 and 72 are integrated with the GPS 62 and/or remoteservice system 70′. As in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the control module may beintegrated with or separate from the GPS and/or other system components.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a functional block diagram of an exemplarytraffic and/or parking monitoring system is shown. The trafficmonitoring system includes a plurality of monitoring stations 100-1,100-2, . . . , and 100-X (collectively monitoring stations 100) such asthe traffic monitoring system 50 shown in FIG. 1. The parkinginformation can be provided in addition to or separate from the trafficinformation. The monitoring stations 100 include a transceiver 104. Themonitoring stations 100 receive vector and location data from thevehicles and transmit traffic and/or parking information to the vehiclesas will be described. To that end, the monitoring stations 100 areconnected to one or more databases 110 that store traffic and/or parkinginformation. Traffic monitoring modules 112 analyze the data that isstored in the databases 110.

While the present invention will be described in conjunction with adistributed communications system 114, there are many other suitableways of interconnecting the monitoring stations 100. The monitoringstation 100-1 includes a server 120-1 and a network interface (NI)124-1. The NI 124-1 provides a connection to the distributedcommunications system 114. In some implementations, the distributedcommunications system 114 includes the Internet, although any other typeof network may be used. The databases 110 may also be connected to thedistributed communications system 114 by servers 130 via NI 132. Othertypes of interconnection include dedicated phone lines, terrestriallinks, satellite links and/or other suitable links may be used. The mainRSA system 133 may communicate with one or more of the servers 130and/or may have all independent links via the DCS 114. The system mayuse an inquiry response technique and/or a push technique for providingparking and/or traffic information.

In addition to the foregoing, a plurality of smart parking meters 138-1,138-2, . . . , and 138-P (collectively smart parking meters 138) can beprovided. The smart parking meters 138 provide an indication when theparking spot is filled or vacant. In some implementations, the smartparking meter 138 may make this decision based on a meter status signalgenerated by an expired module 139. The expired module generates themeter status signal having a spot filled state when the meter isrunning. The meter status signal has a spot vacant state when the meterexpires. In other words, when the meter is expired, the smart parkingmeter can assume that the spot is vacant.

Alternately, the smart parking meter 138 may include a sensor 140 thatsenses whether a vehicle is located in a corresponding parking spot. Insome implementations, the sensor outputs a radio frequency signal in adirection towards the parking space and generates the meter statussignal depending on reflected signals that are received. If thereflected signals are returned in a period less than a threshold and/orhave an amplitude greater than a threshold, a vehicle is in the spot. Ifnot, the spot is vacant. In some implementations, the reflected signalsneed to be less than the threshold for a predetermined period (to reducenoise). In still other embodiments, a group of meters may include acommon sensor that senses the presence of one or more vehicles in one ormore parking spots of the group. In addition, a parking lot 142 mayinclude a parking spot module 143 that provides a collective signal thatK parking spots are available in the entire parking lot 142. The smartparking meters 138 and smart parking lots 142 may be connected to thetraffic monitoring system in any suitable manner including networkinterfaces (NI) 144, wireless transmitters 146 and/or in any othersuitable manner. When transmitting the information, wireless or wiredconnections may be used.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a flow chart illustrating exemplary stepsperformed by systems associated with the vehicle are shown. In thisexemplary embodiment, the vehicle sends vehicle vector and location dataon a periodic basis. The data transmission may be selectively enabledwhile the vehicle ignition is on, the vehicle ignition is on or off, thevehicle is moving and/or using other criteria. Control begins with step150. In step 152, the vehicle sends vector and location data. In step154, a timer is reset. In step 156, control determines whether a timeris up. If false, control returns to step 156. If step 156 is true,control returns to step 152. Control may be performed by the GPS system62 or using any other control module in the vehicle. Alternately and/orin addition to the foregoing, the traffic monitoring system mayperiodically query the vehicle remotely for vector and/or location data.The vehicle responds to the query by sending the vector and/or locationdata.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a flow chart illustrating exemplary stepsperformed by systems associated with the vehicle are shown. Controlbegins with step 160. In step 162, control determines whether thevehicle is located on a major thoroughfare. For example, majorthoroughfares may be defined to include freeways, highways and majorstreets. Major thoroughfares may exclude smaller streets, residentialareas and low traffic streets to reduce the amount of data being sent.Since traffic is low on these types of roads, traffic information is notneeded. If step 162 is false, control returns to step 162. If step 162is true, control resets a timer in step 164. In step 166, controldetermines whether a timer is up. If not, control continues with step168 and determines whether the vehicle has a direction change that isgreater than a first threshold. If not, control continues with step 170and determines whether the vehicle has incurred a speed change that isgreater than a second threshold. Steps 166, 168 and 170 also tend tolimit data being transmitted by the vehicle to the traffic monitoringsystem. One or more of these steps may be performed.

Referring now to FIG. 7A, a flow chart illustrating exemplary stepsperformed by the traffic monitoring system is shown. Control begins withstep 180. In step 182, control determines whether the vehicle ignitiontransitions from on to off. If true, control determines whether thevehicle is located in a public parking area in step 184. This step maybe performed by the vehicle alone and/or by the vehicle transmittinglocation information to the traffic monitoring system and receiving aresponse indicating whether the location is a parking spot in a publicparking area. If step 184 is true, the vehicle sends a park indicatorand location data in step 186. Control continues from step 186 to step182. If step 184 is false, control returns to step 182. Therefore,the-traffic monitoring system receives data related to parked vehicles.

If step 182 is false, control continues with step 190 and controldetermines whether the vehicle ignition transitions from off to on andthe vehicle is moved. When the ignition turns on, it is likely that thevehicle may exit the parking space. If step 190 is true, control sendsvehicle vector and location data to the traffic monitoring system instep 192 and control returns to step 182. If step 190 is false, controlalso continues with step 182. The traffic monitoring system uses thevehicle parking and vehicle leaving data to provide parking informationto other vehicles.

Referring now to FIG. 7B, a flow chart illustrating alternate exemplarysteps performed by the traffic monitoring system are shown. Controlbegins with step 200. In step 202, control determines whether thevehicle ignition transitions from on to off. If step 202 is true,control sends vehicle park indicator and location data in step 204 andas described above. If step 202 is false, control continues with step206. In step 206, control determines whether the vehicle ignitiontransitions from off to on and the vehicle is moved. If true, controlsends vehicle vector and location data. If step 206 is false, controlreturns to step 202.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a flow chart illustrating data collection andanalysis steps performed by the traffic monitoring system are shown.Control begins with step 220. In step 224, control receives data fromthe vehicles. In step 228, control estimates average speeds on selectedportions of thoroughfares based on data from one or more vehicles. Forexample, the traffic monitoring system may estimate average speeds forpredetermined distances or increments, and/or for specific lanes. Thetraffic monitoring system may also compare average speeds of differentlanes. The increments may vary based on road type, conditions orcalculated speeds. For example, as the difference between the averagespeeds and the posted speeds differ, the predetermined increment may bereduced in length.

Traffic information is transmitted to the vehicles based uponcalculations made on the collected vehicle data. The traffic informationmay be pushed to the vehicles and/or an inquiry/response technique maybe used in step 230. Control ends in step 232. In addition to trafficinformation, parking data may also be transmitted to the vehicles usinga push technique and/or an inquiry/response technique.

The traffic monitoring system may perform the analysis steps based inpart on a sample size of data collected from the vehicles. The trafficmonitoring system generates a confidence level that is associated withthe traffic information that is transmitted to the vehicles based on thesample size. For example, the traffic monitoring system may only receivedata from a single vehicle or a number of vehicles below a threshold ina particular area. When data from the single vehicle indicates that thevehicle is traveling at a speed above a certain threshold, the trafficmonitoring system can presume that other vehicles in the vicinity aretraveling at similar speeds and generate a high confidence level.

Conversely, the data from the single vehicle may indicate that thevehicle is not moving or traveling below the threshold. The slowtraveling speed may not necessarily indicate that the other vehicles inthe vicinity are traveling at similar speeds. For example, the singlevehicle may be stopped or slowed because of vehicle problems. When onlya single vehicle or a low number of vehicles are stopped or traveling ata low speed, the traffic monitoring system generates a low confidencelevel to associate with the traffic information. The traffic monitoringsystem may flag the single vehicle to consider the prior data insubsequent confidence analyses.

Referring now to FIG. 9, steps performed by the traffic monitoringsystem for monitoring parking are illustrated. Control begins with step250. In step 252, control determines whether a vehicle is stopped in apublic parking spot. The decision may be based on vector and locationdata samples and/or based on a parking indicator and location data. Thedetermination that the parking spot is a public spot is based on thelocation data. If true, control indicates that the corresponding publicparking spot is filled in step 254.

Control continues from steps 252 and 254 with step 256. In step 256,control determines whether a vehicle transitions from parking to moving.If step 256 is true, control starts a timer in step 258. In step 260,control indicates that a vehicle is leaving a public parking space. Thetimer is used to limit the amount of time that the parking space isidentified as “vehicle leaving”. Control continues from steps 256 and260 with step 262. In step 262, control determines whether a timer for avehicle is up. If step 262 is true, control changes a status of theparking space to unknown in step 264. Control continues from steps 262and 264 with step 252.

Referring now to FIG. 10, steps performed by the traffic monitoringsystem for identifying vehicles having operational problems are shown.Control begins with step 280. In step 282, control receives data fromvehicles. In step 284 and 286, for each of the vehicles, controldetermines an average speed on a thoroughfare portion and lane that thevehicle is traveling on. In step 288, control determines whether thespeed of each vehicle is less than a first speed threshold and theaverage speed on a thoroughfare is greater than a second speedthreshold.

For example, if the average speed on a thoroughfare is 50 mph and thespeed of the vehicle is less than 5 mph, the vehicle may be havingoperational problems and/or may have been involved in an accident andrequire assistance. Frequent speed changes and/or lane changes (e.g.,lane changes greater than a lane change frequency threshold) mayindicate other operational problems such as driver impairment. If step288 is true, control triggers an inquiry via-the remote serviceassistance system in step 290. For example, the traffic monitoringsystem notifies the main remote service assistance system to have aservice assistant contact the driver of the vehicle. The serviceassistant can determine whether or not there is a problem such as anaccident or other operational problem and contact emergency personnel,roadside assistance and/or other assistance as needed. For example, theservice assistant may notify the emergency personnel of a location ofthe vehicle, including the thoroughfare portion and the lane that thevehicle is traveling in. Control continues from step 288 and 290 withstep 294. In step 294, control determines whether there are additionalvehicles to evaluate. If step 294 is true, control returns to step 284.If step 294 is false, control returns to step 282.

Referring now to FIG. 11, a display illustrating vehicle speeds onthoroughfares 298-1, 298-2, . . . and 298-Z is shown. The display 66associated with the GPS system at 62 is shown. Visual elements generallyidentified by 300-1, 300-2, . . . , and 300-Y are provided on the map.The visual elements indicate bottlenecks and/or other traffic on themain thoroughfares. Any suitable visual indication may be used toidentify problems. For example, color, cross-hatching, shading, shapes,blinking and/or other techniques may be used to identify high trafficzones, low speed zones, construction zone, and/or accident zones. Forexample, visual element 300-3 may be rendered in red and flashing tosignify an accident. Speeds on the thoroughfare also provide anindication of a problem (e.g. the speeds decrease as the distance to theaccident 300-3 decreases).

Referring now to FIG. 12, an exemplary display of available parking inthe vicinity of the vehicle is shown. Based on information collected,the display of the GPS 62 can be used to identify available parkingspaces 340-1, 340-2, . . . , and 340-G in a selected area. The trafficmonitoring system may provide filled (F), leaving (L), open (O) and/orunknown (U) status data for parking spaces in a selected area. Theseindicators may be designated using any suitable visual indication.

The filled indicator is used when a vehicle with the GPS system parks inthe spot and the traffic monitoring system does not receive dataindicating that the vehicle has moved. The unknown indicator is usedwhen there is no information concerning the space and/or after apredetermined amount of time after a vehicle with a GPS system leaves aparking spot. A leaving indicator is used within a predetermined timeafter a vehicle with a GPS system leaves a parking spot. The leavingindicator may also be triggered when a vehicle with a GPS system startsits engine after a dwell period. The open status is used when the spaceis open. In some implementations, the status is provided by smartparking meters 138. Spaces in smart parking lots 142 may also be shownat 342.

Referring now to FIG. 13A, steps for identifying accidents are shown.Control begins in step 300. In step 302, the traffic monitoring systemreceives data from vehicles. In step 304, the traffic monitoring systemcompares locations of the vehicles at the same time. Based on thelocation and time, the traffic monitoring system can determine whetheran accident may have occurred. If the vehicles have substantially thesame location at the same time, the traffic monitoring system may querythe users to determine whether an accident has occurred in step 308. Inother words, if two vehicles provide their location at a particular timeand the locations conflict, the traffic monitoring system may assumethat there is a possibility that an accident occurred and take actionvia the remote service assistance system. The traffic monitoring systemcan also determine which lane the accident occurred in and which lanesthe accident is blocking.

Referring now to FIG. 13B, steps for updating traffic information basedon lanes that vehicles are traveling in are shown. Control begins instep 310. In step 312, the traffic monitoring system receives data fromvehicles. In step 314, the traffic monitoring system determineslane-specific traffic information based on the data. For example, thetraffic monitoring system determines which lanes of a particularthoroughfare that vehicles are traveling in based on the data. Thetraffic monitoring system can determine average speeds of vehicles andaccident locations in specific lanes. The traffic monitoring system canfurther determine lane changes and lane change frequency based on thedata. For example, when an accident is located in a first lane, the datamay indicate that a plurality of vehicles are changing from the firstlane to a second or third lane. The data may also indicate that vehiclesare changing lanes to avoid a non-vehicle obstruction in a lane, such asa pothole or vehicle debris.

In step 316, the traffic monitoring system notifies vehicles of thetraffic information and/or the vehicle requests the traffic informationusing an inquiry/response technique. In addition to the trafficinformation, the traffic monitoring system may transmit suggested lanechanges to the vehicle to avoid accidents and/or lane obstructions.Control ends in step 318.

Referring now to FIG. 14, a subscriber service according to the presentinvention is shown. Control begins in step 320. In step 324, fees arecharged for subscription services. The fees can be based on the level ofservice that is requested. In step 328, data is collected from at leastone of subscribing and non-subscribing vehicles and/or from smartparking meters and/or lots. In some implementations, data from othersubscriber systems may be used. In step 332, data is analyzed andtraffic, parking and other information is generated. In step 334,selected traffic, parking and/or other information is sent tosubscribers based on subscribed services of the user. For example, someusers may pay a subscription fee to receive traffic information but notparking information. Other subscribers may receive either parkinginformation only or traffic and parking information. The subscriberlevels may also be differentiated based on geography, time of day and/orusing other criteria. Control ends in step 338.

Referring now to FIG. 15, another exemplary subscriber service accordingto the present invention is shown. Control begins in step 340. In step342, data is collected from at least one of subscribing andnon-subscribing vehicles and/or from smart parking meters and/or lots.In step 344, data that is collected is analyzed and traffic, parking andother information is updated. In step 346, control determines whether arequest for information is received. Alternately, the information can bepushed to the user based on the subscription of the user. If step 346 isfalse, control returns to step 342. If step 346 is true, controldetermines whether the user has a subscription for the requestedinformation. If false, control prompts the user to obtain asubscription. The subscriptions can be on a periodic basis, apay-per-use basis or on any other basis. If step 348 is true, therequested information is sent to the subscriber. As can be appreciated,encryption and/or other techniques may be used to prevent fraudulentaccess to the traffic and/or parking information.

Referring now to FIGS. 16A-16C, exemplary traffic monitoring systems 400that employ vector and location data from cellular phones 410 inaddition to and/or instead of vector and location data from vehicles isshown. The, location of the cellular phones 410 may be determined basedon triangulation calculations and/or based on global positioning systems(GPS) that are integrated with the cellular phones.

In FIGS. 16A-16C, reference numbers from FIG. 4 are used to identifysimilar elements. The cellular phones 410 communicate with cellularstations 412. The cellular stations 412, in turn, communicate with amobile telephone switching office (MTSO) 414. The MTSO 414 communicateswith a central office 416. The central office 416 may communicate via anetwork interface 418 and the distributed communications system (DCS)114 with the traffic monitoring module 112.

The network interface 418 may include any suitable connection to thenetwork interface 132 associated with the traffic monitoring module 112.For example, the network interface 418 may include a server andbroadband modem, a dedicated communication link such as a T1 line,and/or any other suitable link.

The cellular phone 410 includes a phone control module 460, a powersupply 462, memory 464, a storage device 466, and a cellular networkinterface 467. The cellular phone 410 may include a WLAN interface 468and associated antenna 469, a microphone 470, an audio output 472 suchas a speaker and/or output jack, a display 474, and a user input device476 such as a keypad and/or pointing device.

The phone control module 460 may receive input signals from the cellularnetwork interface 467, the WLAN interface 468, the microphone 470,and/or the user input device 476. The phone control module 460 mayprocess signals, including encoding, decoding, filtering, and/orformatting, and generate output signals. The output signals may becommunicated to one or more of memory 464, the storage device 466, thecellular network interface 467, the WLAN interface 468, and the audiooutput 472.

Memory 464 may include random access memory (RAM) and/or nonvolatilememory such as flash memory, phase change memory, or multi-state memory,in which each memory cell has more than two states. The storage device466 may include an optical storage drive, such as a DVD drive, and/or ahard disk drive (HDD). The power supply 462 provides power to thecomponents of the cellular phone 410.

In FIG. 16A, the cell phone 410 includes a GPS module 477, which mayinclude a vector and location module 478 that generates vector andlocation data in a manner similar to that described above with respectto the vehicle systems. The GPS module 477 may further include a storagedevice 479 that includes road identification data that identifies roads,stores maps and/or classifies roads in a manner similar to thatdescribed above with respect to the vehicle systems.

When the cell phone 410 is on, the GPS module 477 selectively generatesvector and location data and transmits the data to the central office416 via the cellular station 412 and the MTSO 414. The GPS module 477may selectively send the vector and location data when the cellularphone 410 is traveling at a speed above a first speed threshold.Alternatively, the GPS module 477 may send the vector and location dataperiodically, on an event basis and/or using any other criteria. Thefirst speed threshold may be set equal to a value that is greater than atypical speed of a person walking or running.

For example only, the threshold may be set equal to approximately 4 or 5miles per hour to eliminate people walking with their cell phones.Additional higher thresholds such as 10-15 miles per hour can be usedinstead of or in addition to the lower threshold. If multiple thresholdsare employed, the speed may be assigned a measure of certainty. In otherwords, when the cellular phone is moving at 9 miles per hour, it isfairly certain that the cellular phone is not being carried by a personwalking. However, it may be carried by a person running. A higherthreshold such as 15 miles per hour may be used to eliminate people whoare running. Other thresholds may be used. Furthermore, the accuracy ofGPS may be sufficient to differentiate between a cellular phone movingon the road as compared to a cellular phone moving on an adjacentsidewalk.

The GPS module 477 may also use the road identification information inthe storage device 479 to selectively determine whether or not thevehicle (transporting the person with the cellular phone 410) istraveling on first type of road rather than a secondary road that is notbeing monitored. The GPS module 477 may also be used to selectivelydetermine whether or not a speed of the cellular phone 410 is greaterthan the first speed threshold.

In FIG. 16B, the cellular phone 410 may include a more basic GPS module477′. In this implementation, the GPS module 477′ sends the location ofthe cellular phone 410 without checking the road identificationinformation, comparing the traveling speed of the cellular phone to athreshold, and/or checking whether the cellular phone is traveling alonga first type of road. The GPS module 477′ may send the dataperiodically, on an event basis and/or using any other criteria. The GPSmodule 477′ may send location data and not vector data.

The MTSO 414, the central office 416 and/or other component associatedwith the cellular system may include a cellular phone tracking module480 that checks the road identification information, compares thetraveling speed of the cellular phone to a threshold, and/or checkswhether the cellular phone is traveling along a first type of road. Thecellular phone tracking module 480 may also calculate speed. Thecellular phone tracking module 480 may selectively send the vector andlocation data based on criteria set forth herein. Alternately, thecellular phone tracking module 480 can be associated with the trafficmonitoring module 112 and the location data can be sent from thecellular phone 410 to the traffic monitoring module 112 for processing.

In FIG. 16C, the cellular phone 410 does not include a GPS module.Rather, multiple cell stations 412-1, 412-2, . . . and 412-W may usetriangulation methods and/or signal strength methods to identify andtrack movement of the cellular phone 410. The cellular phone trackingmodule 480 may be associated with the MTSO 414 and/or the central office416. The cellular phone tracking module 480 generates vector andlocation data for the cellular phone 410 based on the triangulatedlocation data. The cellular phone tracking module 480 may also check theroad identification information, compare the traveling speed of thecellular phone 410 to a threshold, and/or check whether the cellularphone 410 is traveling along a first type of road. Alternately, thecellular phone tracking module 480 can be associated with the trafficmonitoring module 112 and the location data can be sent from thecellular phone 410 to the traffic monitoring module 112 for processing.

Referring now to FIG. 17, exemplary steps performed by a cellular phone410 for transmitting data are shown. In this exemplary embodiment, thecellular phone 410 sends cellular phone vector and location data on aperiodic basis. The data transmission may be selectively enabled whilethe cellular phone 410 is on and/or when the cellular phone 410 is onand moving at a speed greater than a threshold, on certain types ofroads, and/or using other criteria. Control begins with step 550. Instep 552, the cellular phone 410 sends vector and location data. In step554, a timer is reset. In step 556, control determines whether a timeris up. If false, control returns to step 556. If step 556 is true,control returns to step 552. Control may be performed by the GPS module477 or using any other control module in the cellular phone 410.Alternately and/or in addition to the foregoing, the traffic monitoringsystem 112 may periodically query the cellular phone 410 remotely forvector and/or location data. The cellular phone 410 may respond to thequery by sending the vector and/or location data. The traffic monitoringsystem 400 may vary the time between queries as needed to increase ordecrease granularity.

Referring now to FIG. 18, alternate exemplary steps performed by thecellular phone 410 for transmitting data are shown. Control begins withstep 560. In step 562, control determines whether the cellular phone 410is located on a first type of road. For example, the first type of roadmay include major thoroughfares that may be defined to include freeways,highways and major streets. The first type of road may exclude smallerstreets, residential areas and low traffic streets to reduce the amountof data being sent. Since traffic is low on these types of roads,traffic information may not be needed.

If step 562 is false, control returns to step 562. If step 562 is true,control resets a timer in step 564. In step 566, control determineswhether a timer is up. If not, control continues with step 568 anddetermines whether the cellular phone 410 has a direction change that isgreater than a first threshold. If not, control continues with step 570and determines whether the cellular phone 410 has incurred a speedchange that is greater than a second threshold. Steps 566, 568 and 570also tend to limit data that is being transmitted by the cellular phone410 to the traffic monitoring system 400. One or more of these steps maybe performed.

Referring now to FIG. 19, exemplary steps for selectively sending datawhen the cellular phone 410 is moving at a speed greater than a firstthreshold are shown. These steps may be performed in addition to and/orinstead of other steps described herein. These steps may be performed bythe cellular phone 410, the cellular phone tracking module 480, and/orthe traffic monitoring system 400 (which may discard the data when thespeed is lower than the threshold). Control begins with step 600. Instep 602, control determines whether the cellular phone 410 is moving ata speed that is greater than a first speed threshold. If not, the vectorand location data is not sent to the traffic monitoring system 400and/or is not used by the traffic monitoring system 112 in step 604. Ifstep 602 is true, the vector and location data is sent and/or used bythe traffic monitoring system 400 in step 606.

Referring now to FIG. 20, exemplary steps for selectively using datafrom cellular phones when more than one cellular phone is moving in thesame or opposite direction and/or at a similar speed are shown. Thesesteps may be performed in addition to and/or instead of other datavalidation steps described herein. Control begins with step 620. In step624, control determines whether data has been received from a cellularphone. If not, control returns to step 624. Otherwise, control continueswith step 626 and determines whether other cellular-phones are moving inthe same or opposite direction as the cellular phone 410. If not,control continues with step 632 and the data from the cellular phone 410is not used and/or the weight given to the data is decreased as comparedto when step 626 is true. If step 626 is true, the data from thecellular phone 410 may be used in step 630 and/or the weight given tothe data is increased as compared to when step 626 is false. Inaddition, when the cellular phones are traveling in the same or oppositedirections at similar speeds, the traffic monitoring system 400 can alsodetermine whether or not they are traveling on a road and/or are locatedwithin a predetermined distance from each other as a furtherverification.

Referring now to FIG. 21, exemplary steps for selectively: predictingatypical events such as construction and/or accidents based on estimateexpected speed or traffic flow for a given set of conditions are shown.Control begins in step 640. In step 644, the expected speed and/ortraffic level for a road is estimated for current and/or future periodsin step 644. The estimated expected speed may be specific to the day ofthe week, the time of the year, the time of the day, weather, holidays,etc.

In step 648, received data from at least one vehicle and/or cellularphone is compared to the estimated expected speed and/or traffic levels.Based on the comparison, problems such as accidents, construction and/orother atypical events may be tentatively identified in step 652. Forexample, if the average expected speed for the road on a particular dayof the week and time of the day is 55 mph and the speed of the cellularphone is 10 mph, it may be reasonable to assume that there may be aproblem.

In step 654, one or more vehicles may be queried to determine whether anaccident or other atypical event has occurred. The query may beperformed using the remote service assistance system and/or the cellularsystem. For example the cellular system may be used to call the cellularphone and inquire as to the traffic conditions. Text messaging may beused. In other words, a text message may be sent to the user and mayprovide a list of possible problems for selection such as accident,construction, slow traffic, etc. The user may indicate that an accident(or other problem) has occurred, which can be relayed to othersubscribers.

Referring now to FIG. 22, exemplary steps for selectively predictingfuture traffic flow based on prior traffic flow are shown. Controlbegins with step 660. In step 662, cumulative expected traffic flow fora road is estimated during a first period based on historical data. Thetraffic flow may be an estimate of the number of cars traveling along aroad in a one direction during a morning or evening rush hour for agiven day of the week and time of the year. For example only, the firstperiod may be from 6 am to 10 am on Monday. During the first period, thenumber of vehicles traveling south on a certain road may average 145,000vehicles. The estimated traffic flow may be based on samples received inthe past and/or based on statistical analysis. In other words, not allof the vehicles may be monitored and/or include a cellular phone that issending vector and/or location data and sampling analysis may beperformed to estimate the total number of vehicles.

In step 664, cumulative traffic flow for a second period is estimated.The second period may occur during the first period and may be less thanthe first period. For example only, the second period may be from 6 amto 7:30 am and 80,000 vehicles may have traveled during that period. Instep 668, the monitored cumulative traffic flow is compared to theestimated cumulative traffic flow. In the example, typically an averageof 40,000 vehicles may travel during the second period. Therefore,traffic flowing during the remaining part of the first period may belighter than usual since more traffic than normal occurred during thesecond period.

In step 670, the remaining traffic flow during a third-period may beestimated based on the comparison. In the example, the third period maybe estimated traffic flow for the remaining period of the rush hour from7:30 am to 10 am. Traffic during the third period may tend to be lowerthan average due to the higher number of vehicles traveling during thesecond period and the estimated total number of vehicles during thefirst period. Therefore, the traffic monitoring system may indicate tosubscribers that lower than normal traffic levels are anticipated duringthe third period.

Referring now to FIG. 23, exemplary steps performed by the trafficmonitoring system for receiving and processing traffic data based ondata from cellular phones are shown. These steps can be performed inaddition to other data collection from vehicles and/or other sources.

Control begins with step 720. In step 724, control receives data fromthe cellular phones. In step 728, control estimates average speeds onselected portions of thoroughfares based on data from one or morecellular phones. For example, the traffic monitoring system 400 mayestimate average speeds for predetermined distances or increments,and/or for specific lanes. The traffic monitoring system 400 may alsocompare average speeds of different lanes. The increments may vary basedon road type, conditions or calculated speeds. For example, as thedifference between the average speeds and the posted speeds differ, thepredetermined increment may be reduced in length.

Traffic information may be transmitted to the subscribers based uponcalculations made on the collected cellular phone and/or vehicle data.The traffic information may be pushed to the subscribers and/or aninquiry/response technique may be used in step 730. Control ends in step732. In addition to traffic information, parking data may also betransmitted to the subscribers using a push technique and/or aninquiry/response technique.

Referring now to FIG. 24A, an alternate traffic monitoring module 112 isshown to include a historical-based traffic estimating module 804, acurrent traffic monitoring module 808 and a traffic predicting module812. The historical-based traffic estimating module 804 reviewshistorical data and develops estimates for a given time of day, day ofweek, time of year, holidays, and/or any other criteria. For exampleonly, the historical-based traffic estimating module 804 may develop anaverage prior traffic level for a rush hour period from 4 pm to 7 pm fora road on a particular day and time of year. In this example, theaverage traffic level during the period may be equal to 100,000vehicles.

The current traffic monitoring module 808 may monitor and/or estimatetraffic levels during part of a rush hour period. The traffic predictingmodule 812 may predict remaining traffic levels during the period basedon the estimate and the traffic level during part of the rush hourperiod. For example only, during the time from 4 pm to 5:30 pm,approximately 40,000 vehicles may have traveled as compared to anaverage of 60,000 on average during this time. Therefore, the trafficpredicting module 812 may predict a higher than average traffic levelfor the remaining part of the period.

The present disclosure also compares travel paths defined by vector andlocation data over time to known map data to determine whether new roadshave been created. Based on a speed of the cellular phone, newwalking/hiking paths and/or biking paths may also be identified.

The identification of the new roads, walking/hiking paths and/or bikingpaths can be performed locally at the cellular phone or vehicle and usedto locally update the map data of the same cellular phone or vehicle.The new roads, walking/hiking paths and/or biking paths can beidentified at the cellular phone or vehicle and sent to the remotetraffic monitoring system to allow selective updating of map data ofother cellular phones. The new roads, walking/hiking paths and/or bikingpaths may also be identified at a central remote traffic monitoringsystem and sent to the vehicles and cellular phones as map data updatesor at one or more distributed servers.

When the cellular phone or vehicle begins traveling on a path that doesnot align with a known road, the generation and/or transmission ofvector and location data may be increased as compared to updates thatoccur when the cellular phone or vehicle is traveling over known roads.As a result, more detail relating to the new travel path may beobtained.

Referring now to FIG. 24B-24D, the traffic monitoring module 112 shownin FIG. 24A can be implemented using a plurality of servers 813 thatdistribute the processing load and communicate on a peer-to-peer level.In other words, each of the servers 813 may perform processing for aparticular geographic region and/or group of vehicles and/or cellularphones. As can be seen in FIGS. 24C and 24D, the servers 813 mayexchange traffic information with a centralized traffic monitoringsystem, which can relay traffic information between the remote servers.Alternately the servers 813 may communicate on a peer-to-peer level andexchange traffic information with each other.

In FIG. 24C, servers 813-1, 813-2, . . . and 813-S (collectively servers813) communicate with distributed communications system (DCS) 814 withthe traffic monitoring module 112. For example only, the DCS 814 mayinclude the Internet, an Intranet, a wide area network, a local areanetwork or other communication system. In FIG. 24D, the servers 813communicate directly with each other via the DCS 814. The servers 813and/or the traffic monitoring system may receive data from the vehiclesand/or cellular phones using any suitable medium.

Referring now to FIG. 25A, a traffic monitoring module 847 includes anadaptive map building module 848. The term remote is used in thiscontext to refer to the remote location of the traffic monitoring module847 relative to the data collecting devices such as the vehicles andcellular phones. The adaptive map building module 848 monitors travelpaths of cellular phones and vehicles and determines whether new roadsand/or hiking/bike paths should be created and added to the stored maps.The adaptive map building module 848 also determines whether and whennew map updates should be sent. The adaptive map building module 848also selects the subscribers that should receive the updated maps.

The adaptive map building module 848 may include a map monitoring module850 and a map updating module 854. The map monitoring module 850compares travel paths defined by vector and location data (received fromone or more cellular phones and vehicles over time) to known orpreviously defined roads stored as map data. The vehicles or cellularphones may be traveling along a travel path that does not coincide withone of the known and stored roads, or biking/walking/hiking paths. Ifone or more vehicles and/or cellular phones travel along the same path,the map monitoring module 850 may assume that a new road or path hasbeen built. The map updating module 854 may selectively update the mapdata of selected ones of the subscribers based on the new roads or pathsthat are identified.

The map monitoring module 850 may require certain conditions to be metbefore declaring a new travel path to be a new road. For example, themap monitoring module 850 may require traffic flow at a predeterminedlevel, matching of paths of multiple subscribers within a predeterminedvariance, traffic flow over a predetermined time, predetermined speedsor average speeds on the path, and/or any other suitable criteria.Statistical analysis may also be used. The map monitoring module 850 mayalso require the path to start and end at other known roads.

The map monitoring module 850 may compare vector and location datagenerated by vector and location modules of one or more vehicles and/orcellular phones with map data previously stored in the database 110.When the vehicles and/or cellular phones are traveling along a path thatdoes not align with roads in the map data, the map monitoring module 850may determine whether sufficient criteria has been met to create a newroad.

The criteria may include the number of times (or cellular phones orvehicles) traveling along the path with a predetermined time period, thespeed of travel, and/or other criteria described above. The map updatingmodule 854 may selectively update the local map data of one or more ofthe vehicles and/or cellular phones that generated the data(alternately, the map data of other vehicles and/or cellular phones canalso be updated) when a new road or hiking/biking path has beenidentified. Additionally, the map monitoring module 850 and map updatingmodule 854 may identify walking/hiking paths and biking paths based on atravel speed and/or other information as will be described below. Themap monitoring module 850 and the map updating module 854 may becombined into a single module.

Referring now to FIG. 25B, the map monitoring module 850 is shown toinclude a path determining module 864, a comparing module 866 and anidentifying module 868. The path determining module 864 determines atravel path of the cellular phone based on the vector and location data.The comparing module 866 compares the travel path to roads defined bythe map data. The identifying module 868 selectively identifies newroads based on the comparison as described herein.

Referring now to FIG. 25C, some of the adaptive map building may beperformed by one or more servers 869 that may be remote from a centraltraffic monitoring module and the cellular phones and vehicles describedherein. The term remote is used in this context to refer to the remotelocation of the server relative to the traffic monitoring module and thedata collecting devices such as the vehicles and cellular phones. Theservers 869 may perform processing of data from a predeterminedgeography or data source, monitor the vector and location data relativeto the map data, selectively add new roads or biking/hiking paths,update the associated cellular phones and vehicles, and/or send updatedmap data to a remote traffic monitoring module. The server 869 mayinclude an adaptive map building module 870.

The adaptive map building module 870 monitors travel paths of cellularphones and vehicles and determines whether new roads and/or hiking/bikepaths should be created and added to the stored maps. The adaptive mapbuilding module 870 also determines whether and when new map updatesshould be sent. The adaptive map building module 870 also selects thesubscribers that should receive the updated maps. The adaptive mapbuilding module 870 includes a map monitoring module 871 and a mapupdating module 872, which operate as further described above and below.

The servers may communicate with other servers in a peer-to-peer mode orvia a traffic monitoring module, as described above in conjunction withFIGS. 24C and 24D.

Referring now to FIG. 25B, an exemplary map monitoring module 871 isshown. The map monitoring module 871 includes a path determining module874, a comparing module 875 and an identifying module 876. The pathdetermining module 876 determines a travel path of the cellular phonesand vehicles based on the vector and location data. The comparing module875 compares the travel path to roads defined by the map data. Theidentifying module 876 selectively identifies new roads based on thecomparison as further described above and below.

Referring now to FIG. 26, an exemplary method performed by the adaptivemap building module 848 of FIG. 25 is shown. Control begins with step880 and proceeds to step 882. In step 882, the adaptive map buildingmodule 848 receives vector and location data from one or more cellularphones and/or vehicles.

In steps 884 and 886, the adaptive map building module 848 determineswhether sufficient predetermined criteria relating to the creation of aroad has been met. For example only, in step 884 control determineswhether V vehicles have traveled on a path, where V is an integergreater than or equal to one. If step 884 is true, the adaptive mapbuilding module 848 may also determine whether additional criteria hasbeen met in step 886.

If all of the criteria has been met as determined in steps 884 and 886,the adaptive map building module 848 creates new map data defined by thepath of the V vehicles in step 888. In step 894, the traffic monitoringmodule 112 may push the new map data to relevant subscribers. Therelevant subscribers may be those subscribers that are within apredetermined geographical distance from the new road, subscribers whopay for updates, etc.

The traffic monitoring module 112 may send or push the new map data tothe subscribers when a new road is identified, on a predeterminedperiodic basis, when an event occurs, upon user requests, and/or usingany other basis. The new map data may also be selectively sent when asubscriber is traveling within a predetermined distance of the new roador is likely to travel on the new road.

Referring now to FIGS. 27A and 27B, a cellular phone 900 including anadaptive-map building module 910 is shown. Reference numbers from FIG.16A have been used in FIG. 27 where appropriate. A global positioningsystem (GPS) 904 includes an adaptive mapping module 906. Alternately,the adaptive map building module 906 may be a stand alone module orintegrated with another cellular phone module.

The adaptive mapping module 906 includes a map monitoring module 910 anda map updating module 912. The map monitoring module 910 may comparevector and location data generated by the vector and location module 478with map data previously stored in the memory 479. When the cellularphone 900 is traveling along a path that does not align with roads inthe map data, the map monitoring module 910 may determine whethersufficient criteria has been met to create a new road.

The criteria may include the number of times traveled along the path,the speed of travel, and/or other criteria described above. The mapupdating module 912 may selectively update the local map data of thecellular phone 900 when a new road has been identified. Additionally,the map monitoring module 910 and map updating module 912 may identifywalking/hiking paths and biking paths based on a travel speed and/orother information as will be described below.

The map updating module 912 may also selectively send new map data,walking/hiking data and/or biking data to the traffic monitoring module112. The map monitoring module 910 and the map updating module 912 maybe combined into a single module.

In FIG. 27B, the map monitoring module 910 is shown to include a pathdetermining module 914, a comparing module 916 and an identifying module918. The path determining module 914 determines a travel path of thecellular phone based on the vector and location data. The comparingmodule 916 compares the travel path to roads defined by the map data. Anidentifying module 918 selectively identifies new roads based on thecomparison as described herein.

Referring now to FIG. 28, a vehicle 940 including a user-based adaptivemap building module 946 is shown. Reference numbers from FIG. 3A havebeen used where appropriate. A global positioning system (GPS) 944 mayinclude a user-based adaptive mapping module 946. Alternately, theadaptive map building module 946 may be a stand alone module orintegrated with another vehicle module. The adaptive map building module946 includes a map monitoring module 950 and a map updating module 952.The map monitoring module 950 may compare vector and location datagenerated by the vector and location module 478 to map data previouslystored in the memory 479.

When the vehicle 940 is traveling along a path that does not align withthe map data, the map monitoring module 950 and/or the map updatingmodule 952 may determine whether sufficient criteria has been met tocreate a new road. The criteria may include the number of times traveledalong the path, the speed of travel, and/or other criteria describedabove. The map updating module 952 may selectively update the local mapdata of the cellular phone 900 when a new road has been identified. Themap updating module 912 may also selectively send new road informationto the traffic monitoring module 112. The map monitoring module 950 maybe similar to that shown in FIG. 27B.

Referring now to FIG. 29, an exemplary method performed by the adaptivemap building modules is shown. Control begins with step 970 and proceedsto step 974. In step 974, control monitors vector and location datarelative to roads in the map data during operation. In step 976, controldetermines whether the cellular phone or vehicle is traveling on atravel path that is not stored in the map data. Additional criteria mayalso be evaluated in step 978 as described above. If the additionalcriteria is met, the adaptive mapping module adds a new road defined bythe travel path of the vehicle or cellular phone to the local map datain step 980. In step 982, the map updating module 952 may selectivelysend new map data to the remote traffic monitoring system.

Referring now to FIG. 30, an exemplary method performed by the adaptivemap building module 906 of FIG. 27 is shown. The cellular phone may becarried by a person while traveling along a walking/hiking path and/or abiking path. The adaptive map building modules monitor movement andselectively add the walking/hiking or biking paths to the map data.

Control begins with step 1000. In step 1004, control monitors vector andlocation data relative to the map data during operation. In step 1008,control determines whether the cellular phone is traveling on a paththat is not defined by the map data. If step 1008 is true, controldetermines whether the speed on the path is greater than a first speedthreshold and less than a second speed threshold in step 1010. The firstspeed threshold may be equal to a typical minimum walking speed. Forexample only, the first speed threshold may be a value in a range of 1to 3 mph. The second speed threshold may be equal to a second value thatis a typical maximum walking speed. For example only, the second speedthreshold may be set in the range of 3 to 5 mph. For example only, thefirst speed threshold may be set to 2 mph and the second speed thresholdmay be set to 5 mph.

Alternately, a higher second speed threshold may be used to monitorrunners running on the paths. For example, the second speed thresholdmay be set equal to a value in the range of 8 to 15 mph.

If step 1010 is met, it is likely that the user of the cellular-phone iswalking along a walking/hiking path. Therefore, in step 1014, thewalking/hiking path may be added to the map data. In step 1018, the newwalking/hiking path data may be selectively sent to the trafficmonitoring system. Additional validation criteria may also be performedas described above.

If step 1010 is false, control continues with step 1020 and determineswhether the speed of the user along the path is greater than a thirdspeed threshold and less than a fourth speed threshold. The third speedthreshold may be equal to a typical minimum biking speed such as 5 mph.The fourth speed threshold may be equal to a typical maximum bikingspeed such as 25 mph. If step 1020 is true, it is likely that a user isoperating a bicycle along a bike path. Therefore, in step 1024, thebiking path may be added to the local map data. In step 1028, new bikingpath data may also be selectively sent to the traffic monitoring system.

Referring now to FIG. 31, an exemplary method for identifying whether apath is uphill or downhill, estimating a percentage grade and/orestimating a length of the grade of a bike path is shown. Control beginswith step 1100 and proceeds to step 1104. In step 1104, a speed oraverage speed along a biking path is monitored for one or more cellularphones. As bicyclists ride uphill, their speed will tend to slowrelative to flatter sections of the path. As bicyclists ride downhill,their speed will tend to increase relative to flatter sections of thepath. For example, for cellular phones traveling in one direction on thepath, the average speed may be 25 mph. For cellular phones traveling inthe opposite direction on the same path, the average speed may be 7 mph.The increasing/decreasing trend may tend to identify downhill/uphillsections. These relative speeds may tend to identify a section that isdownhill in the one direction and uphill in the opposite direction.Additionally, the relative grade may also be estimated based on theincrease/decrease in speed. The relative speeds may also be used todetermine when the grade starts and stops. In other words, when theaverage speeds in opposite directions are statistically significant, thedifferences can be used to identify the start and end of a grade.

In step 1110, the length of grade, the up/down pitch of the grade and/orthe percent grade of the biking path may be estimated. In other words,the map data may reflect sections of the biking path that are uphill anddownhill and the lengths of the uphill/downhill sections. For exampleonly, the estimation may be done using statistical analysis. In step1114, data relating to a bike path may be updated using the grade orlength of grade information. Control ends in step 1120.

Those skilled in the art can now appreciate from the foregoingdescription that the broad teachings of the present invention can beimplemented in a variety of forms. As can be appreciated, steps ofmethods disclosed and claimed can be performed in an order that isdifferent than that described and claimed herein without departing fromthe spirit of the present invention. Therefore, while this invention hasbeen described in connection with particular examples thereof, the truescope of the invention should not be so limited since othermodifications will become apparent to the skilled practitioner upon astudy of the drawings, the specification and the following claims.

1. A traffic monitoring system, comprising: a traffic estimating modulethat estimates an average traffic level on said road during prior onesof first periodic periods; a traffic monitoring module that estimates acurrent traffic level on said road during a first portion of a currentone of said first periodic periods based on vector and locationinformation received from at least one of cellular phones and vehiclesduring said first portion; and a traffic predicting module that predictstraffic levels on said road during a remaining portion of said currentone of said first periodic periods based on said average traffic leveland said estimated current traffic level during said first portion. 2.The traffic monitoring system of claim 1 further comprising: a cellularphone including: a global positioning system (GPS) that selectivelygenerates vector and location data; a transmitter; and a control modulethat selectively wirelessly transmits vector and location data of saidcellular phone using said transmitter.
 3. The traffic monitoring systemof claim 2 wherein said control module transmits said vector andlocation data of said cellular phone when said cellular phone istraveling on a first set of predetermined roads and does not transmitsaid vector and location data when said cellular phone is traveling on asecond set of roads.
 4. The traffic monitoring system of claim 2 whereinsaid control module transmits said vector and location data of saidcellular phone when said cellular phone is traveling at a speed greaterthan a first threshold and does not transmit said vector and locationdata when said cellular phone is traveling at a speed that is less thansaid first threshold.
 5. The traffic monitoring system of claim 2further comprising: a traffic report generator that generates trafficreports based on said vector and location data, wherein said cellularphone includes a receiver that communicates with said control module andthat wirelessly receives said traffic reports.
 6. The traffic monitoringsystem of claim 5 wherein said traffic reports include traffic speedinformation for traffic traveling on at least one road.
 7. The trafficmonitoring system of claim 1 further comprising: a cellular phone; and acellular phone tracking module that generates vector and location datafor said cellular phone.
 8. The traffic monitoring system of claim 7wherein said cellular phone tracking module compares a speed of saidcellular phone on a first road to a first threshold and to an averagetraffic speed on said first road and that selectively triggers contactwith said cellular phone.
 9. The traffic monitoring system of claim 2wherein said control module transmits said vector and location data on aperiodic basis.
 10. The traffic monitoring system of claim 2 whereinsaid control module monitors changes in direction of said cellular phoneand transmits said vector and location data when said cellular phonechanges direction greater than a direction change threshold.
 11. Amethod for operating a traffic monitoring system, comprising: estimatingan average traffic level on said road during prior ones of firstperiodic periods; estimating a current traffic level on said road duringa first portion of a current one of said first periodic periods based onvector and location information received from at least one of cellularphones and vehicles during said first portion; and predicting trafficlevels on said road during a remaining portion of said current one ofsaid first periodic periods based on said average traffic level and saidestimated current traffic level during said first portion.
 12. Themethod of claim 11 further comprising: providing a cellular phoneincluding: a global positioning system (GPS) that selectively generatesvector and location data; a transmitter; and a control module thatselectively wirelessly transmits vector and location data of saidcellular phone using said transmitter.
 13. The method of claim 12further comprising: transmitting said vector and location data of saidcellular phone when said cellular phone is traveling on a first set ofpredetermined roads; and not transmitting said vector and location datawhen said cellular phone is traveling on a second set of roads.
 14. Themethod of claim 12 further comprising: transmitting said vector andlocation data of said cellular phone when said cellular phone istraveling at a speed greater than a first threshold; and nottransmitting said vector and location data when said cellular phone istraveling at a speed that is less than said first threshold.
 15. Themethod of claim 12 further comprising: generating traffic reports basedon said vector and location data; and wirelessly receiving said trafficreports at said cellular phone.
 16. The method of claim 15 wherein saidtraffic reports include traffic speed information for traffic travelingon at least one road.
 17. The method of claim 11 further comprising:providing a cellular phone; and providing a cellular phone trackingmodule that generates vector and location data for said cellular phone.18. The method of claim 17 further comprising: comparing a speed of saidcellular phone on a first road to a first threshold and to an averagetraffic speed on said first road; and selectively triggering contactwith said cellular phone.
 19. The method of claim 12 further comprisingtransmitting said vector and location data on a periodic basis.
 20. Themethod of claim 12 further comprising: monitoring changes in directionof said cellular phone; and transmitting said vector and location datawhen said cellular phone changes direction greater than a directionchange threshold.
 21. A traffic monitoring system, comprising: trafficestimating means for estimating an average traffic level on said roadduring prior ones of first periodic periods; traffic monitoring meansfor estimating a current traffic level on said road during a firstportion of a current one of said first periodic periods based on vectorand location information received from at least one of cellular phonesand vehicles during said first portion; and traffic predicting means forpredicting traffic levels on said road during a remaining portion ofsaid current one of said first periodic periods based on said averagetraffic level and said estimated current traffic level during said firstportion.
 22. The traffic monitoring system of claim 21 furthercomprising: a cellular phone including: global positioning means forselectively generating vector and location data; transmitting means fortransmitting data; and control means for selectively wirelesslytransmitting vector and location data of said cellular phone using saidtransmitting means.
 23. The traffic monitoring system of claim 22wherein said control means transmits said vector and location data ofsaid cellular phone when said cellular phone is traveling on a first setof predetermined roads and does not transmit said vector and locationdata when said cellular phone is traveling on a second set of roads. 24.The traffic monitoring system of claim 22 wherein said control meanstransmits said vector and location data of said cellular phone when saidcellular phone is traveling at a speed greater than a first thresholdand does not transmit said vector and location data when said cellularphone is traveling at a speed that is less than said first threshold.25. The traffic monitoring system of claim 22 further comprising:traffic report generating means for generating traffic reports based onsaid vector and location data, wherein said cellular phone includes areceiver that communicates with said control means and that wirelesslyreceives said traffic reports.
 26. The traffic monitoring system ofclaim 25 wherein said traffic reports include traffic speed informationfor traffic traveling on at least one road.
 27. The traffic monitoringsystem of claim 21 further comprising: a cellular phone; and cellularphone tracking means for generating vector and location data for saidcellular phone.
 28. The traffic monitoring system of claim 27 whereinsaid cellular phone tracking means compares a speed of said cellularphone on a first road to a first threshold and to an average trafficspeed on said first road and that selectively triggers contact with saidcellular phone.
 29. The traffic monitoring system of claim 22 whereinsaid control means transmits said vector and location data on a periodicbasis.
 30. The traffic monitoring system of claim 22 wherein saidcontrol means monitors changes in direction of said cellular phone andtransmits said vector and location data when said cellular phone changesdirection greater than a direction change threshold.